# New uConsole won't boot up **URL:** \ **Category:** uConsole\ **Tags:** help\ **Created:** [July 13, 2024, 7:15pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/new-uconsole-wont-boot-up/13942 "2024-07-13T19:15:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mterencelao](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/mterencelao/32/9066_2.png) [@mterencelao](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/mterencelao)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2024, 4:55pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/new-uconsole-wont-boot-up/13942/21 "2024-07-14T16:55:55Z")
Yes. Grab a programming board for your CM4. You benefit with faster read/write speeds, in exchange for the swapping feature of the device. The microSD slot is essentially hard-disabled. ---
**Author:** ![Danycacks](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/danycacks/32/9913_2.png) [@Danycacks](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Danycacks)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2024, 5:00pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/new-uconsole-wont-boot-up/13942/22 "2024-07-14T17:00:05Z")
So the good option would be to buy a IO board for the CM4 I have now, install the OS to the inboard eMMC memory then just install the CM4 board on the uConsole? - Question will I be able to use an additional SD card for more storage? or will that be disabled and not be able to be used as why you said its essentially hard-disabled? ---
**Author:** ![Rex](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/rex/32/16852_2.png) [@Rex](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Rex)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2024, 5:44pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/new-uconsole-wont-boot-up/13942/23 "2024-07-14T17:44:24Z")
Yes just install the CM4 in a io board and flash the emmc. The SD slot will be useless to you, but you do get the speed benefit of emmc. ---
**Author:** ![mterencelao](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/mterencelao/32/9066_2.png) [@mterencelao](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/mterencelao)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2024, 5:48pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/new-uconsole-wont-boot-up/13942/24 "2024-07-14T17:48:09Z")
Absolutely. The OS may even load faster. As I’ve said, the SD card slot in the mainboard is hard-disabled if you insert CM4 with onboard storage. That’s a hardware limitation of the CM4. But if you’re adding storage through USB, that is very much possible. As an additional note, the USB-C port does not accept hubs, **but the USB-A port does**. That doesn’t have video output support, if you’re thinking of plugging an external monitor to the USB-A. ---
**Author:** ![JWCVictory](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/jwcvictory/32/9041_2.png) [@JWCVictory](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/JWCVictory)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2024, 6:56pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/new-uconsole-wont-boot-up/13942/25 "2024-07-14T18:56:26Z")
I made the same mistake - thought I could boot from the SD Card then write to the memory on the CM4. Just for your notes - I had trouble flashing to the CM4 when using the breakout board (I got the official RPI one) - not sure why - so I couldn’t write directly to the CM4 from my laptop. To work around that, I flashed a USB drive and booted the board to that (still using the breakout board) then used the rpi imager (running from the usb drive on the CM4) to install uConsole’s OS on the CM4 - worked like a champ. ---
**Author:** ![hzykiss](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/hzykiss/32/6673_2.png) [@hzykiss](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/hzykiss)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2024, 3:35am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/new-uconsole-wont-boot-up/13942/26 "2024-07-15T03:35:33Z")
Another common problem, please don’t use CM4 with emmc！！！ ---
**Author:** ![Hendrikvanderplas](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/hendrikvanderplas/32/6783_2.png) [@Hendrikvanderplas](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Hendrikvanderplas)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2024, 1:46pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/new-uconsole-wont-boot-up/13942/27 "2024-07-19T13:46:08Z")
For me the CM4 with EMMC worked just fine but you do need an IO board to flash it with the image. After you’ve done that it will work perfectly, but it does add to the cost. ---
**Author:** ![Danycacks](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/danycacks/32/9913_2.png) [@Danycacks](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Danycacks)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2024, 1:37am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/new-uconsole-wont-boot-up/13942/28 "2024-07-20T01:37:13Z")
So they were able to accept my return in pishop, I will be getting the Lite version. - I will also be getting a different Wi-Fi antenna and other cool stuff with store credit. I want to thank everyone that helped me and contributed to this issue. I should be getting everything tomorrow and testing it out with the new cm4 lite. Thank you again I greatly appreciate all the hep and guidance! ---
**Author:** ![Danycacks](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/danycacks/32/9913_2.png) [@Danycacks](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Danycacks)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2024, 5:39pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/new-uconsole-wont-boot-up/13942/29 "2024-07-20T17:39:57Z")
![1000050281](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/uploads/clockworkpi/original/2X/3/3b433e436562d3b733a079d2b5eaa840a4bb56e3.jpeg) So it’s booting up now, I did notice the trackball is only moving to the left and right and not up and down. Will mess around with it to see if there’s anything wrong with the contacts there. ---
**Author:** ![Rex](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/rex/32/16852_2.png) [@Rex](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Rex)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2024, 6:12pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/new-uconsole-wont-boot-up/13942/30 "2024-07-20T18:12:44Z")
The trackball is directional, there is a little silver nub on the circle on the bottom and it needs to point up or down. ---
**Author:** ![Zimbatron](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/zimbatron/32/10484_2.png) [@Zimbatron](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Zimbatron)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2024, 6:58am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/new-uconsole-wont-boot-up/13942/31 "2024-09-17T06:58:39Z")
I’m experiencing the same black screen issue and I also have bought the MMC version. After reading this post I have purchased this IO board: [https://amzn.eu/d/d722IHh](https://amzn.eu/d/d722IHh) Can you please confirm me this is the correct board? Can you also point me to what should I do once I get this board? I have read the whole thread but didn’t understand what should I do other than flashing the SD and trying to boot it with this board. Thank you very much ---
**Author:** ![Hendrikvanderplas](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/hendrikvanderplas/32/6783_2.png) [@Hendrikvanderplas](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Hendrikvanderplas)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2024, 7:14am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/new-uconsole-wont-boot-up/13942/32 "2024-09-17T07:14:37Z")
I have Raspberry PI’s original I/O board for the CM4 but it looks like this board will also work. To flash the CM4 with the image I can recommend this guide: [How to flash Raspberry Pi OS onto the Compute Module 4 eMMC with usbboot | Jeff Geerling](https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2020/how-flash-raspberry-pi-os-compute-module-4-emmc-usbboot) The most important thing is to reference the manual for your specific board in order to put your compute module in ‘USB mass storage’ mode. Once you’ve done so the CM4 will show up on your computer as a USB storage device that you can then flash with the flashing software of your choosing (balenaEtcher/Raspberry Pi Imager). ---
**Author:** ![Zimbatron](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/zimbatron/32/10484_2.png) [@Zimbatron](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Zimbatron)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2024, 8:07am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/new-uconsole-wont-boot-up/13942/33 "2024-09-17T08:07:40Z")
Thank you very much @Hendrikvanderplas for this guide! Will try as soon as my IO board arrives. ---
**Author:** ![Zimbatron](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/zimbatron/32/10484_2.png) [@Zimbatron](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Zimbatron)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2024, 7:25pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/new-uconsole-wont-boot-up/13942/34 "2024-09-19T19:25:56Z")
I successfully flashed the MMC with the IO board and was finally able to boot it up! Thank you very much for your input. I’m using the RexBookworm version. One last think that i didn’t undestand is if will be able to use the my SD card once my OS has boot. Once I plug it in, nothing happens: mount, dmesg and fdisk do not show anything and i can’t access my sd card. SD card should work, right? ---
**Author:** ![Hendrikvanderplas](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/hendrikvanderplas/32/6783_2.png) [@Hendrikvanderplas](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Hendrikvanderplas)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2024, 7:39pm UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/new-uconsole-wont-boot-up/13942/35 "2024-09-19T19:39:22Z")
Nice! The SD card slot won’t work with the MMC CM4 unfortunately. ---
**Author:** ![Zimbatron](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/zimbatron/32/10484_2.png) [@Zimbatron](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Zimbatron)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 8:46am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/new-uconsole-wont-boot-up/13942/36 "2024-09-20T08:46:59Z")
damn! looks like I will still need a CM4 Lite then. There is still one think I do not understand: if I mount my MMC CM4 on my IO board, will i be able to access the SD card? is this a limitation of CM4 or uConsole? ---
**Author:** ![Hendrikvanderplas](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/hendrikvanderplas/32/6783_2.png) [@Hendrikvanderplas](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Hendrikvanderplas)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 9:01am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/new-uconsole-wont-boot-up/13942/37 "2024-09-20T09:01:53Z")
From the the relevant Respberry Pi forum [topic](https://forums.raspberrypi.com/viewtopic.php?t=305506): _“No, the SD card signals are connected to the EMMC and there is no software setting or hardware jumper which would allow the controller to use the SD slot instead.”_ So whenever you use the uConsole or the I/O board, you won’t be able to use the SD card slot. You could however mount a USB-drive inside or outside the device to add storage. ---
**Author:** ![Zimbatron](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/zimbatron/32/10484_2.png) [@Zimbatron](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Zimbatron)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 9:13am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/new-uconsole-wont-boot-up/13942/38 "2024-09-20T09:13:19Z")
thank you! I’m really surprise of this design decision 🫠 ---
**Author:** ![Hendrikvanderplas](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.clockworkpi.com/hendrikvanderplas/32/6783_2.png) [@Hendrikvanderplas](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/u/Hendrikvanderplas)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2024, 9:17am UTC](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/new-uconsole-wont-boot-up/13942/39 "2024-09-20T09:17:25Z")
I agree, it would have been really nice to have the option to use the SD card slot. I imagine they had to compromise on the architecture to fit the eMMC memory. [Previous page](https://forum.clockworkpi.com/t/new-uconsole-wont-boot-up/13942.md?page=1)